Kevin Booth
Encyclopedia
Kevin Booth is an American
film
and video
director
, producer
, and musician
. He is best known for his work with comedian Bill Hicks
, who was the subject of his book Agent of Evolution, published by Harper Collins UK. Hicks and Booth knew each other since their time together at Stratford High School
. Booth founded Sacred Cow Productions
in 1986, and has since explored such controversial subjects as the Waco Siege
and the New World Order. The company's most notable release is American Drug War: The Last White Hope
, which explores the failings of America's War on Drugs
. The company's most recent film is "How Weed Won the West", which was released in 2010.
, Booth started his first band Freak Out 'N' Four. He was heavily influenced by his older brother Curt who suffered from schizophrenia
.
Booth's family moved to Houston
in the early 1970s during Houston's economic boom. In 1975, he met Bill Hicks
and Dwight Slade at Stratford High School
. The trio formed Stress, an early punk rock band. After high school, Booth started Year Zero
, with classmates Brent Ballard and Robert Reilly.
signed a major contract with Chrysalis Records
. The band toured for several years with the single "Hourglass" playing in regular rotation on MTV. While living in Texas
, Booth went on to produce several records, music videos, and short films. Today, many people know Booth from his work with the late comedian Hicks.
In 1982, Booth started the ACE Production Company (Absolute Creative Entertainment) with Hicks, which would become Sacred Cow Productions
later in the decade. When Year Zero
broke up in 1989, Booth continued working with drummer Pat Brown and formed Marble Head Johnson, fronted by Hicks and accompanied by Booth's brother Curt on key-boards. On July 17, 1989, Booth and Hicks set out to produce Hicks' first feature-length stand-up concert film Sane Man. Booth, Hicks and friends also acted in and produced the cult classic: Karate Rock Opera Ninja Bachelor Party that took almost ten years to complete. Booth produced Hicks' second CD Relentless and performed music with Hicks on Arizona Bay. After Hicks' untimely death from pancreatic cancer in 1994, Booth produced Rant in E Minor, which was to be Hicks' angriest and final work.
In the late 90s, Booth developed his filmmaking in a more political direction and produced several films with filmmaker and 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
. Booth and Jones traveled to the 2004 Republican National Convention
in New York City
, where the two were threatened with arrest multiple times and created the film Martial Law with cameraman Ted O'Brian. During this time, Booth kept producing feature length stand-up comedy DVDs of Joe Rogan
(Fear Factor and News Radio), and comedian Doug Stanhope
. In May 2004, Booth traveled to Britain to promote his first book Agent of Evolution about his life with Hicks, published by Harper Collins U.K.
Following Hicks' death and the loss of several family members to alcohol, cigarettes and pharmaceuticals, Booth decided to produce a feature length documentary exploring America's failed drug war. The discovery that the government classifies marijuana as being more dangerous than crack
or crystal meth
was the start of a four-year mission to sort the facts from fiction and pick apart the paradoxes of America's longest-running "war". This led to unexpected associations with characters like Bloods
founder T. Rodgers and Freeway Ricky Ross
, the man blamed for starting the crack epidemic with cocaine supplied by the CIA.
The film American Drug War - The Last White Hope has won three consecutive awards for "Best Feature Length Documentary." In late spring of 2007, Booth signed with Page Ostrow of Ostrow & Company who secured American Drug War a deal with the Showtime cable network (CBS). In November 2007, American Drug War was honored at the 2007 [Artivist] Awards Ceremony as the Best Feature Film in the International Human Rights category.
American Drug War is Booth's debut as a narrator and the first of a series of films. Booth's next film How Weed Won The West was released on DVD February 17, 2010.
Booth is currently filming American Drug War 2.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He is best known for his work with comedian Bill Hicks
Bill Hicks
William Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
, who was the subject of his book Agent of Evolution, published by Harper Collins UK. Hicks and Booth knew each other since their time together at Stratford High School
Stratford High School (Houston)
Stratford High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District , the district's westernmost secondary school...
. Booth founded Sacred Cow Productions
Sacred Cow Productions
Sacred Cow Productions is a production company founded by filmmaker and author Kevin Booth and the late comedian Bill Hicks. SCP has produced videos and albums of comedians such as Hicks himself, Joe Rogan and Doug Stanhope, hard-hitting subjects like the drug wars, and controversial subject matter...
in 1986, and has since explored such controversial subjects as the Waco Siege
Waco Siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
and the New World Order. The company's most notable release is American Drug War: The Last White Hope
American Drug War: The Last White Hope
American Drug War: The Last White Hope is a 2007 documentary by writer/director Kevin Booth about the War on Drugs in the United States.- Synopsis :The film states the War on Drugs has become one of the longest and most costly wars in American history...
, which explores the failings of America's War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
. The company's most recent film is "How Weed Won the West", which was released in 2010.
Early life
At age six while living in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Booth started his first band Freak Out 'N' Four. He was heavily influenced by his older brother Curt who suffered from schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
.
Booth's family moved to Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
in the early 1970s during Houston's economic boom. In 1975, he met Bill Hicks
Bill Hicks
William Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
and Dwight Slade at Stratford High School
Stratford High School (Houston)
Stratford High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District , the district's westernmost secondary school...
. The trio formed Stress, an early punk rock band. After high school, Booth started Year Zero
Year zero
"Year zero" does not exist in the widely used Gregorian calendar or in its predecessor, the Julian calendar. Under those systems, the year 1 BC is followed by AD 1...
, with classmates Brent Ballard and Robert Reilly.
Production career
Booth started out in the music business in the late 80s, when his band Year ZeroYear zero
"Year zero" does not exist in the widely used Gregorian calendar or in its predecessor, the Julian calendar. Under those systems, the year 1 BC is followed by AD 1...
signed a major contract with Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
. The band toured for several years with the single "Hourglass" playing in regular rotation on MTV. While living in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Booth went on to produce several records, music videos, and short films. Today, many people know Booth from his work with the late comedian Hicks.
In 1982, Booth started the ACE Production Company (Absolute Creative Entertainment) with Hicks, which would become Sacred Cow Productions
Sacred Cow Productions
Sacred Cow Productions is a production company founded by filmmaker and author Kevin Booth and the late comedian Bill Hicks. SCP has produced videos and albums of comedians such as Hicks himself, Joe Rogan and Doug Stanhope, hard-hitting subjects like the drug wars, and controversial subject matter...
later in the decade. When Year Zero
Year zero
"Year zero" does not exist in the widely used Gregorian calendar or in its predecessor, the Julian calendar. Under those systems, the year 1 BC is followed by AD 1...
broke up in 1989, Booth continued working with drummer Pat Brown and formed Marble Head Johnson, fronted by Hicks and accompanied by Booth's brother Curt on key-boards. On July 17, 1989, Booth and Hicks set out to produce Hicks' first feature-length stand-up concert film Sane Man. Booth, Hicks and friends also acted in and produced the cult classic: Karate Rock Opera Ninja Bachelor Party that took almost ten years to complete. Booth produced Hicks' second CD Relentless and performed music with Hicks on Arizona Bay. After Hicks' untimely death from pancreatic cancer in 1994, Booth produced Rant in E Minor, which was to be Hicks' angriest and final work.
In the late 90s, Booth developed his filmmaking in a more political direction and produced several films with filmmaker and 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
Alex Jones (radio)
Alexander Emerick "Alex" Jones is an American talk radio host, actor and filmmaker. His syndicated news/talk show The Alex Jones Show, based in Austin, Texas, airs via the Genesis Communication Network over 60 AM, FM, and shortwave radio stations across the United States and on the Internet...
. Booth and Jones traveled to the 2004 Republican National Convention
2004 Republican National Convention
The 2004 Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States, took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where the two were threatened with arrest multiple times and created the film Martial Law with cameraman Ted O'Brian. During this time, Booth kept producing feature length stand-up comedy DVDs of Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
(Fear Factor and News Radio), and comedian Doug Stanhope
Doug Stanhope
Douglas Gene "Doug" Stanhope is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author known for his abrasive comedy routines.-Life and career:Stanhope quit high school after his freshman year...
. In May 2004, Booth traveled to Britain to promote his first book Agent of Evolution about his life with Hicks, published by Harper Collins U.K.
Following Hicks' death and the loss of several family members to alcohol, cigarettes and pharmaceuticals, Booth decided to produce a feature length documentary exploring America's failed drug war. The discovery that the government classifies marijuana as being more dangerous than crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
or crystal meth
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
was the start of a four-year mission to sort the facts from fiction and pick apart the paradoxes of America's longest-running "war". This led to unexpected associations with characters like Bloods
Bloods
The Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
founder T. Rodgers and Freeway Ricky Ross
Ricky Ross (drug trafficker)
Ricky Donnell Ross , also known as "Freeway" Rick Ross, is a convicted drug trafficker best known for the "drug empire" that he presided over in Los Angeles, California, in the early-1980s...
, the man blamed for starting the crack epidemic with cocaine supplied by the CIA.
The film American Drug War - The Last White Hope has won three consecutive awards for "Best Feature Length Documentary." In late spring of 2007, Booth signed with Page Ostrow of Ostrow & Company who secured American Drug War a deal with the Showtime cable network (CBS). In November 2007, American Drug War was honored at the 2007 [Artivist] Awards Ceremony as the Best Feature Film in the International Human Rights category.
American Drug War is Booth's debut as a narrator and the first of a series of films. Booth's next film How Weed Won The West was released on DVD February 17, 2010.
Booth is currently filming American Drug War 2.
External links
- KevinBooth.com - Official site
- SacredCow.com - Official site
- American Drug War - Film site